Ministry of Health smoking habits as India ranks 2nd in the world for smokers

New Delhi: The Ministry of Health examines smoking habits in India with the aim of changing smoking habits. The ministry is concerned because India ranks second in the world for smokers in the 16-64 age group.

The basic idea is also to shape tax schemes and develop a roadmap to reduce tobacco consumption, a senior health ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

India has one of the lowest smoking cessation rates. The ministry, sources say, has made an effort to curb smoking, but it has not worked. “Ministry officials sent out circulars to understand smoking habits, as well as what would work and what would not work in India,” a senior ministry official told the reporter.

The ministry, which issued a circular last month to establish an expert group on tobacco taxation, believes that tax and tariff policies in India are widely recognized as one of the most effective ways to influence demand. and therefore the consumption of tobacco products.

The expert group will include representatives from the Ministry of Health, Niti Aayog, the Ministry of Revenue, the GST Council, the CBDT and the WHO.
The group will analyze the current tax structure of all forms of tobacco, smoking and smokeless.

India has 250,002,133 smokers and the smoking prevalence in India is three times higher among men than women.

The official said ministry officials are also studying models of various types of smoking tobacco, cigarettes, beedis and e-cigarettes, the last of which remains banned in India.

“Ministry officials have studied various global reports as well as decisions made by various countries regarding all forms of cigarettes, including vaping.

The UK Department of Health last month said e-cigarettes could be prescribed as part of the National Health Survey, a world first to help people quit smoking tobacco products. The move follows a similar decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that vaping products – it’s scientifically proven – help reduce smoking. Clinical trials have repeatedly proven that it is more effective than nicotine patches in quitting smoking and has positive effects on blood vessels when tobacco smokers switch to e-cigarettes.

Professor Jacob George, professor of cardiovascular and therapeutic medicine at the University of Dundee, said in his response: “This is very good news for millions of people who are trying to quit smoking cigarettes.”

The International Commission to Revive the Tobacco Control says China and India are home to more than 500 million tobacco users between the ages of 16 and 64. India also has some of the highest rates of smokeless tobacco use and oral cancer in the world, he said.

The report further states that nearly 37% of Indian respondents expressed a desire to change their smoking behavior, some even planning to quit smoking.

“The ministry works with an open mind when it comes to tobacco. The Expert Panel is open to receiving proposals from various organizations that believe their products will help Indians quit smoking. This is the first time that the Ministry of Health is trying to understand the whole tobacco trade and how it works in India. The ministry is trying to determine whether one part of the tobacco market is benefiting to the detriment of others, ”the official said.

“There is too much emphasis on cigarettes, hardly any beedis, and no thinking about vaping. There are eight beedis for a single cigarette smoking in India. There is little implementation of a ban on chewing tobacco products in some states. The expert committee should look into these questions, ”added the official.

The ministry is alarmed that India is among the countries with the lowest smoking cessation rates. Dropout rates for men are less than 20 percent, according to a recent report.

Globally, an estimated 1.14 billion people still use tobacco, killing nearly eight million people. Tobacco use eliminates nearly 200 million disability-adjusted life years each year.

“The cost to the world is almost $ 2 trillion a year. The drastic socio-economic impact makes it urgent to relaunch the fight against smoking, ”said data collected by the International Commission to relaunch the fight against smoking.

Around the world, there are various stages of banning the marketing and direct sale of tobacco products to children. But it is rarely enforced and the bans are not tightly enforced, especially in low- to middle-income countries.

Data collected in 2019 indicated that despite the bans, a study of areas around 243 schools found nearby vendors displaying attractive tobacco products to children and youth.

The ministry wants to change it, stop it and adopt the best practices to fight against disinformation, reduce the harm of tobacco by taking advantage of multinational, multidisciplinary and participatory prospective studies. “The ministry wants to make it easier for smokers to quit smoking, it wants to increase access to tobacco harm reduction products,” the official said.

Electronic cigarettes, experts say, are much less risky than smoking and help smokers quit. Experts believe that smokers are more likely to benefit from e-cigarettes if they can select the flavors, strengths, and products they like, rather than limiting themselves to whatever becomes allowed. The ministry wants to take a balanced approach, it wants to help smokers quit. “The ministry believes in a discussion of public health and why it is important to include an objective assessment of potential harm. The ministry is also aware that smokers have safety concerns and misperceptions of the relative risks of electronic cigarettes versus tobacco, ”the official said. Department officials are studying the practice in the United States and the United Kingdom, where the number of smokers quitting has increased and the use of e-cigarettes by non-smokers has been negligible.